With extreme cold temperatures hitting Saskatoon, the city’s most vulnerable are seeking refuge at the Lighthouse. But the shelter is facing a heating crisis, with two of the five boilers at the facility broken.
“The first one started leaking a couple months ago and then a second one went. Now a third has started leaking,” Don Windels, executive director at the Lighthouse, said.
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To make matters worse, Windels was told the remaining boilers likely won’t last the winter.
“When the boilers were first put in they were top of the line, but they’ve reached their lifespan.”
That was 30 years ago, he added.
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The Lighthouse was able to reallocate funds from the provincial government to cover the cost of the boilers, but they’re now facing an $84,000 deficit in the renovation budget – and they’re asking the public for help.
“This is something that we didn’t plan for, it isn’t in our budget to replace and so it would be appreciated if we could get help with the cost of replacing the boilers,” Windels said from the Lighthouse on Saturday.
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“We would really appreciate it if the public could help us out at this time,” he added.
All of the funds raised will go towards replenishing the renovation budget, which will be used to make improvements in the supported units section of the facility.
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